Morocco, U.S. Discuss in Washington D.C. Means to Develop Cooperation in Water Sector

25/06/2019

Minister of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water, Abdelkader Amara, held talks Monday in Washington D.C., with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and other U.S. senior officials, which focused on the means to develop cooperation in the sector of water.
During his discussions with Wilbur Ross, which took place in the presence of Morocco's ambassador to the United States, Lalla Joumala Alaoui, the minister shed light on the various aspects of relations between Morocco and the United States in the areas of trade and investment, in the light of the free trade agreement, whose signing in 2004 was a very important step in bilateral relations.
Amara also highlighted the achievements of Morocco in the field of water, thanks to an ambitious public policy led under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, while underlining in this regard the institutional, legislative and regulatory changes, the technical, financial and governance aspects as well as the know-how that the Kingdom has accumulated since the launch of the Dams Policy in 1967 by the late HM Hassan II.
In a statement to MAP following this meeting, Amara said he had discussed with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce the willingness of Morocco to develop cooperation in the area of the collection and analysis of data.
The minister underlined in this regard the importance of the US experience in this area, and particularly in analysing the impact of climate change.
"Having such data helps to make reliable conclusions that can guide us on the nature of investments in dams, desalination of seawater and water transfer," he said.
"In this regard, Ross reiterated his commitment to facilitating our work and invited us to take part in two major global forums on water issues to be held from 21 to 23 September in Chicago, and September 29 to October 2, 2019, in Houston," he added.
The Minister, who leads a delegation that includes the Director General of Morocco's National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), also met with U.S. Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, Timothy R. Petty.
The two sides agreed to work on a Memorandum of Understanding that will define cooperation between the two countries.
Amara also held a meeting with officials from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which focused on data collection.
During this meeting, NASA officials thanked the Moroccan side for the useful contributions of the Kingdom in several programs of the Agency and expressed the wish that Moroccan experts would take part in some aspects of the agency's new lunar program.
The Moroccan delegation then met with officials of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which enjoys a long-standing cooperation with Morocco.
On this occasion, the minister proposed to the American side "a new framework of cooperation with an added value and adapted to the characteristics of Morocco".